Takumitsu Hagiwara currently serves as team PR and team manager for the Ehime Mandarin Pirates. A former pitcher, he won the most wins in 2020 with nine wins (Photo = Ehime MP)
[Serial: A former NPB warrior’s independent league struggle story]
Chapter 2 Ehime Mandarin Pirates Manager Keijiro Yumioka Volume 15
A non-fiction series that approaches the baseball lives of men who were once active on the glamorous NPB stage, but are now struggling in the “independent league.” Chapter 2 takes a close look at Keijiro Yumioka, who made a name for himself in the 1980s as a great shortstop for the Hankyu Braves, and currently commands the Ehime Mandarin Pirates (hereinafter referred to as Ehime MP) as one of the best generals in the independent league. This time, I would like to convey the thoughts of the team staff who support Yumioka and his friends. (Titles omitted in text)
■In high school, he was a backup pitcher for a small baseball team.
“Even after taking off my uniform, there are many people who say to me, “Good luck” at events or when I go out to eat. I am so grateful.”
Takumi Hagiwara, who supported coach Yumioka in his role as team PR and also worked hard to set up this interview, said so.
Hagiwara took the mound as a pitcher for Ehime MP for three years starting from the 2019 season, and was active in the 2020 season, recording the most wins. After his retirement, he became a team manager, and now in his third year, he is involved in a wide range of activities including sales, operations, and public relations.
Hagiwara pitched in 55 games during his three years as a player, posting a record of 17 wins, 20 losses, one save, and an ERA of 3.15, but he was not a player that attracted attention during his school days. He never even thought that he could become a player who would be called a “professional” in an independent league, let alone in the NPB.
The high school is Shibukawa High School, which is known as a preparatory school in Gunma Prefecture. It’s a prestigious school with a long history dating back to the middle school days under the old system, but when it comes to baseball, during his tenure there they lost the first round of the prefectural qualifying round for three years in a row, and Hagiwara was a backup pitcher. After graduating, he entered Juntendo University through the general entrance exam with the intention of becoming a sports trainer, and joined the baseball club, but he was not an athlete, but an “aspiring trainer.”
“All first-year students in Juntendo’s baseball team live in a dormitory, and I happened to be sharing the same room with a player who had been recommended to me.He was a catcher and had been participating in the baseball club’s practices before enrolling. However, he asked me, “You were a player too, so let’s play catch,” and when I played catch, he said, “You throw a good ball, so you should stay active.”
I told him that I was planning to become a trainer, but he told the coach (the school doesn’t have a full-time coach, but is led by a student coach who is selected every year from fourth-year students) that he was a valuable left-handed pitcher and would be a great addition to the team. There’s a kid like that.” At the baseball club’s information session, he said, “You’re on the left, right?” He should join the club as a pitcher.” I turned him down because he wanted to be a trainer, but he was introduced to the vice president and told me that he would take care of things related to trainers later on, so he ended up joining the club as a player. ”
He supports the team in a wide range of activities, including not only public relations but also sales and management, and has earned the deep trust of Coach Yumioka and the players.
■Pitching techniques learned by Junichi Kawahara from Itsuki Shoda
Hagiwara will continue to play as a player in college. However, he viewed it as just “studying to become a trainer,” and rather than becoming a regular, he thought of using himself as an experiment to see how much his performance would improve. As expected by his friends in the same room and the manager, he received formal training and technical guidance for the first time and grew dramatically, becoming the team’s indispensable main pitcher.
His pitch speed increased from 131km/h to 144km/h, and he was selected as the best pitcher in the Tokyo Metropolitan Third Division in the spring league of 2018, his final year. Hagiwara begins to relive his childhood dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He decided to take a different path from his friends, who were steadily advancing in life by going to graduate school and getting a job.He aimed to join the NPB, and was introduced to him by a university alumnus connected to the Ehime MP, so he donned an orange uniform with sleeves. I passed it.
“I joined the team after surgery, so my ball speed didn’t reach 140km/h in my first year, but I did my best to get into the game.I was lucky enough to get some wins, and in the first term I was the team’s leader in wins. However, he injured his shoulder in the second half of the season and continued to play while recuperating.Even so, he was selected for the Shikoku Island League, giving him valuable experiences and learning opportunities that would have been unimaginable during his high school and university years. I received it.
In his second year, when he won the most wins, he increased his ball speed and at the same time was conscious of his interactions with batters and tactics. I felt like I was in a position where I could get the most wins if I just kept pitching with the goal of creating a match every time, and then my teammates happened to support me, and before I knew it, I was in a position where I might have the most wins (lol).”
As his growth potential was large, he learned pitching techniques from then-manager Junichi Kawahara (former Giants pitcher, current Ehime MP Project Promotion Department) and from then-current Tatsuki Shoda, who also played in NPB and overseas. became blood and flesh. In his third year, which he decided was his final year to try to get into the NPB, he forced himself to train harder than ever before, as he recalls, “I kept thinking about baseball 24 hours a day.” However, he did not achieve the results he expected and decided to retire at the end of the same year (2021 season).
“I don’t know what others think of me, but I was able to work as hard as I could to the limit, so I was able to spend a satisfying career with no regrets.”
■Creating a baseball world where all players can fully burn out
Hagiwara was praised for his earnest and steady efforts, and upon his retirement, the team asked him to serve as team manager, which he continues to do today. It wasn’t until I became an administrator that I was able to see things that I hadn’t noticed when I was a player.
“In the Shikoku Island League Plus, players’ salaries for all teams are around 100,000 yen. When I was an active player, there were times when I thought to myself, “Why? Please make me pay a little more.” (laughs) But it wasn’t until I became a manager. , I learned firsthand how difficult it is to manage games, and the struggles of acquiring sponsors and sales, and I came to understand that “It’s a huge blessing for a player in an independent league to even get paid.”When I was a player, I was very grateful for my performance. Even though we thought hard about raising our salaries, we didn’t even really understand where our salaries were coming from (lol).”
Hagiwara is currently striving every day to become a manager who can build a bridge and mutual understanding between the field and management, something he can only do because he is a former player. If the organization becomes a place where there is a sense of mutual appreciation, results will naturally improve, and the Ehime Mandarin Pirates will become an indispensable presence in the region. At the same time, he was also dreaming of a new dream: “I want to contribute to creating a baseball world where all players can fully enjoy themselves,” not just for his own team.
Hagiwara PR is dreaming of big dreams that will contribute to the baseball world as a whole.
“Eventually, I hope that a coaching qualification system will be adopted in the Japanese baseball world, and that an environment will be created where leaders can learn about organizational management and coaching. Trainers and coaches are assigned to every team, so that players can receive high-quality training and coaching no matter what team they belong to.I would like to create a company that dispatches and develops coaches for that purpose. is not it.
Personally, I was a backup pitcher on a weak baseball team in high school, but I was able to meet great trainers and coaches at university and in Ehime, which dramatically improved my performance, and I was able to retire feeling like I had accomplished my goal. It was big. I want more players to have that experience. I would be happy if I could create a track record in the Shikoku Island League Plus and contribute to spreading it throughout the Japanese baseball world.”
Although his childhood dream of joining the NPB did not come true, Hagiwara found a new dream in the independent league. As a team manager, he is looking for ways to contribute to the players and the baseball world as a whole.
(Continued from Part 16)
■Keijiro Yumioka (Yumioka Keijiro)
Born in 1958, from Hyogo Prefecture. He played at Toyo University Himeji High School and Nippon Steel Hirohata High School, and was drafted third in the 1980 draft and joined the Hankyu Braves. After retiring in 1991, he served as Orix’s first team coach and second team manager. He served as the manager of the Ehime Mandarin Pirates from 2014 to 2016, leading the team to the “complete championship” (winning both the first half and the overall championship in the year) and the “No. 1 title in Japan in the independent league”. He returned to Orix as a coach in 2017, and then returned to Ehime in 2022 to take over the reins.
2023-12-19 18:47:07
#aspiring #trainer #pitcher #wins #unique #independent #leaguer #dreams #entire #baseball #world #Sports #News #Weekly #PreNews
